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= Florida Educational Research Association (FERA) = The Florida Educational Research Association (FERA) is is a professional association founded in 1959 to promote the investigation, research, and discussion of educational problems and issues impacting the state of Florida. FERA is an affiliated member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) through the Consortium of State and Regional Educational Research Associations. FERA is filed as a 501(c)(3), non-profit public charity with tax-exempt status.

Organization and Membership
FERA members include university professors, school district administrators, graduate students, state education administrators, teachers, and other educational professionals within the state of Florida. FERA is governed by a board of voluntary members, including a president-elect, president, past-president, secretary, treasurer, and three directors at large. FERA is also composed of several standing committees composed of voluntary members for different function of the association, including awards, publications, professional development, and various conference planning functions.

Annual Conference
FERA hosts an annual conference typically in the month of November each year, and historically lasts for three days. The annual conference location changes each, but has always been within a city the state of Florida. The program includes several activities, including peer-reviewed concurrent paper sessions, symposia and panels, invited keynote guest speakers, evening receptions, a peer-reviewed graduate student poster session, a graduate student luncheon, a teacher inquiry strand for practicing teachers, and the annual business meeting luncheon. While annual attendance to the conference fluctuates from year to year, newsletter records show anywhere from 100 to 150 participants each year.

Publications
FERA publishes the Florida Journal of Educational Research (FJER) (Print: 0428-7355; Online: 2575-6109), which is now an online, open access, peer-reviewed journal available to both members and non-members dating back to 1960. FJER publishes original research, literature reviews, implementation and evaluation studies, theoretical, conceptual, and policy papers that contribute to indivdiuals' understanding of the issues, and problems associated with educational environments. Additionally, FERA publishes a newletter twice a year in the Fall and Spring to keep members abreast of topics of interest to the membership.

Awards
FERA confers four awards to select individuals within the association at the annual conference business meeting luncheon: 1) the Educational Researcher of the Year Award, 2) the Russell P. Kropp Award, 3) the Distinguished Paper Award, and 4) the Graduate Student Poster Award. Each award has different purposes and requirements, such as membership in the association. Notably, while the Distinguished Paper Award and Graduate Student Poster Award are confered annually at the conference, the Educational Researcher of the Year Award and the Russell P. Kropp Award are only awarded in situations where individuals are nominate and vetted by a review process.